Les Invalides · Lablypedia

History

Louis XIV initiated the project by an order dated 24 November 1670 to create a home and hospital for aged and disabled (invalide) soldiers, the veterans of his many military campaigns. The initial architect of Les Invalides was Libéral Bruant. The selected site was in the then suburban plain of Grenelle (plaine de Grenelle). By the time the enlarged project was completed in 1676, the façade fronting the Seine measured 196 metres (643 ft) in width, and the complex had fifteen courtyards, the largest being the cour d'honneur designed for military parades. The church-and-chapel complex of the Invalides was designed by Jules Hardouin-Mansart in 1676, taking inspiration from his great-uncle François Mansart's design for a Chapelle des Bourbons to be built behind the chancel of the Basilica of Saint-Denis, the French monarch's necropolis since ancient times. Several projects were submitted in the mid-1660s by both Mansart and Gian Lorenzo Bernini, who was residing in Paris at the time. Mansart's second project is very close to Hardouin-Mansart's concept of the Royal Chapel or Dome Church at Les Invalides, both in terms of its architecture and of its relationship with the adjacent church. Architectural historian Allan Braham has hypothesized that the domed chapel was initially intended to be a new burial place for the Bourbon Dynasty, but that project was not implemented. Instead, the massive building was designated as the private chapel of the monarch, which was attached to the Cathedral attended by the veterans. The Dôme des Invalides remains as one of the prime exemplars of French Baroque architecture, at 107 metres (351 ft) high, and also as an iconic symbol of France's absolute monarchy.

The interior of the dome was painted by Le Brun's disciple Charles de La Fosse with a Baroque illusionistic ceiling painting. The painting was completed in 1705.

Meanwhile, Hardouin-Mansart assisted the aged Bruant with the Cathedral of Saint-Louis-des-Invalides, Paris, which was finished to Bruant's design after the latter died in 1697. Daily attendance of the veterans in the church services was required. Shortly after the veterans' chapel was started, Louis XIV commissioned Mansart to construct a separate private royal chapel, now named its most striking feature. The Dome chapel was finished in 1706.

Because of its location and significance, the Invalides served as the scene for several key events in French history. On 14 July 1789, it was stormed by Parisian rioters who seized the cannons and muskets stored in its cellars to use against the Bastille later the same day. Napoleon was entombed under the Dome of the Invalides with a grand ceremony in 1840. The separation between the two churches was reinforced in the 19th century with the erection of Napoleon's tomb, the creation of the two separate altars, and the construction of a glass wall between the two chapels.

The building retained its primary function as a retirement home and hospital for military veterans (invalides) until the early twentieth century. In 1872, the musée d'artillerie (Artillery Museum) was located within the building to be joined by the musée historique des armées (Historical Museum of the Armies) in 1896. The two institutions were merged to form the present musée de l'armée in 1905. At the same time, the veterans in residence were dispersed to smaller centres outside Paris. The reason was that adopting a mainly conscript army after 1872 meant a substantial reduction in the number of veterans having the twenty or more years of military service formerly required to enter the Hôpital des Invalides. The building accordingly became too large for its original purpose. The modern complex does, however, still include the facilities detailed below for about a hundred elderly or incapacitated former soldiers.

When the Army Museum at Les Invalides was founded in 1905, the veterans' chapel was placed under its administrative control. It is now the cathedral of the Diocese of the French Armed Forces, officially known as Cathédrale Saint-Louis-des-Invalides.

2024 Olympic and Paralympic venue

The Esplanade des Invalides, the expansive green space in front of the historic Hôtel des Invalides, was a venue for several sports during the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics and 2024 Summer Paralympics. It hosted archery, para-archery, road cycling, and marathon events, with the Invalides buildings providing a backdrop.

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Architecture

North Front and entrance

Hardouin-Mansart's Dome chapel is large enough to dominate the long façade yet harmonizes with Bruant's door under an arched pediment on the north front of Les Invalides. To the north, the courtyard (cour d'honneur) is extended by a wide public esplanade (Esplanade des Invalides) where the embassies of Austria and Finland are neighbors of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, all forming one of the grand open spaces in the heart of Paris. At its far end, the Pont Alexandre III links this grand urbanistic axis with the Petit Palais and the Grand Palais. The Pont des Invalides is next, downstream the Seine river.

The Dome des Invalides

The Dome is the tallest and most famous of the buildings of Les Invalides. Designed by Jules Hardouin-Mansart, it takes the form of a Greek cross, on a square plan. Each of the facades is composed of two orders superimposed. The porch is topped by triangular fronton. It is crowned by a dome 90 metres high, surmounted by a lantern, bringing the total height to 107 metres (351 feet), making it taller than Notre Dame de Paris and the tallest of all Paris church domes.

The dome is actually composed of two domes superimposed. The lower dome is largely open at the base, allowed the visitors below to see the art painted on the dome above by Charles de La Fosse. The windows are masked by the lower dome, which permits natural lighting and gives the impression that viewers are actually seeing the sky, a popular Baroque effect.

The interior of the dome is divided into two separate churches; beneath the dome is the chapel that was used, on rare occasions, by the royal family. Attached to the dome is a separate church, the Cathedral of Saint-Louis-des-Invalides, Paris, which was used by the veterans who lived at Les Invalides. They were required to attend daily services in the church.

The painting inside the dome by Charles de la Fosse depicts Saint Louis presenting his sword to Christ and the angels. In the centre of the composition, God and the Virgin are surrounded by angel musicians. Saint Louis carries the symbols of royalty; a crown, a garden with flour-des-lys emblems, and a royal mantle. To the right of Christ are placed the symbols of the passion and the suffering of Christ; the cross, nails, a lance, and the crown of thorns.

Charles de la Fosse (1636-1716), a student of Le Brun, was one of the leading painters of the Academy, whose work is also found in the Palace of Versailles. Jules Hardouin Mansard, in charge of all the decoration of the dome, asked La Fosse to decorate the cupola and the pendentives with paintings of the four Evangelists. In the same period, he decorated the salons of Diane and Apollo at the Palace of Versailles.

Tomb of Napoleon

The Tomb of Napoleon is found within the Church of the Dome. It was created after his remains were returned to France from Saint Helena in 1840. It was prepared by King Louis Philippe I and his Prime Minister, Adolphe Thiers, but it was not completed and inaugurated until 1861. The chief architect was Louis Visconti, who died before the tomb was completed. The sarcophagus made of purple quartzite, on a base of green granite, is placed in an open crypt. The crypt is surrounded by a circular gallery supported by twelve pillars, with relief panel and sculpture celebrating Napoleon's accomplishments, represented by figures of Atlantes.

Cathedral of Saint-Louis-des-Invalides

In 1957, the position of vicar was created to oversee the spiritual education of the army. In 1986 a position of the Bishop of the armies was established and placed at the church, which gave the church the title of cathedral.

The church is located directly behind the Dome des Invalides. It was originally the church that was used by the army veterans who lived at Les Invalides. They were required to attend daily services in the cathedral. In the original church, the dome, where the royal family worshipped, served as the choir, while the present cathedral was the nave for the veterans.

One unusual feature of the church is the display of captured enemy flags taken over the years by the French Army.

The cathedral has a particularly fine organ, made between 1679 and 1687, with a vert elaborate case with sculpture designed by architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart.

The Courtyard of Honour

The organ of the cathedral is particularly notable. It was made by the organ-builder of the King, Alexandre Thierry, between 1679 and 1687, and has undergone several restorations. The elaborate buffet with sculpture was made in 1683. It was specially designed for the church by the architect, Jules Hardouin-Mansart.

The French Army Museum

The Army Museum (Musée de l'Armée) was created in 1905 with the merger of the Musée d'Artillerie and the Musée Historique de l'Armée. The museum's seven main spaces and departments contain collections that display military equipment spanning from the Middle antiquity through the 20th century.

The Museum of Relief Maps

The Musee des Plans-Reliefs displays a collection of military models. It was begun in 1668 the Minister of War of Louis XIV ordered that three-dimensional models be made of fortified cities and strategic places in France. The models were originally held in the Louvre. The collection was enlarged through the 18th centuries, and some models of German fortifications were added. The total collection made between 1668 and 1870 has about 150 models. The museum currently displays some twenty-eight models, depicting fortified cities of the French coast.

Plan of Les Invalides

The buildings still comprise the Institution Nationale des Invalides, a national institution for disabled war veterans. The institution comprises:

a retirement home
a medical and surgical centre
a centre for external medical consultations.

Burials

The Dome chapel became a military necropolis when Napoleon in September 1800 designated it for the relocation of the tomb of Louis XIV's celebrated general Turenne, followed in 1807–1808 by Vauban. In 1835, the underground gallery below the church received the remains of 14 victims of the Giuseppe Marco Fieschi's failed assassination attempt on Louis-Philippe I. The significant development came with the building's designation to become Napoleon's tomb by a law of 10 June 1840, as part of the political project of the retour des cendres orchestrated by king Louis-Philippe I and his minister Adolphe Thiers (the reference to Napoleon's cendres or "ashes" is actually to his mortal remains, as he had not been cremated). The creation of the crypt and of Napoleon's massive sarcophagus took twenty years to complete and was finished in 1861. By then, it was emperor Napoleon III who was in power and oversaw the ceremony of the transfer of the remains of his uncle from a chapel of the church to the crypt beneath the dome.

Inside the Église du Dôme des Invalides

The most notable tomb at Les Invalides is that of Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821), designed by Louis Visconti with sculptures by James Pradier, Pierre-Charles Simart and Francisque Joseph Duret. Napoleon was initially interred on Saint Helena, but King Louis Philippe arranged for his remains to be brought to France in 1840, an event known as le retour des cendres. Napoleon's remains were kept in the Saint Jerome (southwestern) chapel of the Dome church for more than two decades until his final resting place, a tomb made of red quartzite and resting on a green granite base, was finished in 1861.

Other military figures and members of Napoleon's family were also buried at the Dome church by year of burial there:

1800: Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, Viscount of Turenne (1611–1675); 1670s monument by Gaspard Marsy and Jean-Baptiste Tuby, originally at the Basilica of Saint-Denis and relocated by Napoleon
1807–1808: heart of Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban (1633–1707); relocated by Napoleon from Bazoches, replaced in 1847 with a cenotaph by Antoine Étex
1847: Henri Gatien Bertrand (1773–1844), an army general who accompanied Napoleon to Elba and then St Helena, and in 1840 brought Napoleon's body back to France; monument designed by Louis Visconti
1847: Géraud Duroc (1772–1813); also by Louis Visconti
1862: Jérôme Bonaparte (1784–1860), Napoleon's youngest brother, Governor of the Invalides 1848–1852; monument by Alfred-Nicolas Normand with sculpture by Eugène Guillaume, in the Saint Jerome chapel
1864: Joseph Bonaparte (1768–1844), Napoleon's elder brother; monument by Alphonse-Nicolas Crépinet in the Saint Augustine (southeastern) chapel
Charles Leclerc (1772–1802); urn relocated from the Château de Montgobert
1904: heart of Théophile Corret de la Tour d'Auvergne (1743–1800), named by Napoleon the "first grenadier of the Republic"
1940: Napoleon II (1811–1832) son of Napoleon (his heart and intestines remained in Vienna); first placed in the church's Saint Jerome Chapel, then buried in the crypt in 1969
1858: heart of Catharina of Württemberg (1783–1835), wife of Jérôme Bonaparte, and their son Jérôme Napoléon Charles Bonaparte, in the underground gallery; the monument of Catharina's heart was relocated in 1862 in the Saint Jerome Chapel
1937: Ferdinand Foch (1851–1929), monument by Paul Landowski in the Saint Ambrose (northeastern) chapel
1963: Hubert Lyautey (1854–1934), relocated from Morocco, monument by Albert Laprade in the Saint Gregory (northwestern) chapel

Beneath the Cathédrale Saint-Louis-des-Invalides

82 additional military figures, including 28 Governors of Les Invalides, are buried in the Caveau des Gouverneurs, an underground gallery beneath the Cathédrale Saint-Louis-des-Invalides:

Albert d'Amade (1856–1941)
Jean-Toussaint Arrighi de Casanova (1778–1853), Governor 1852–1853
Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers (1764–1813) (heart)
Achille Baraguey d'Hilliers (1795–1878), Marshal of France
Jean-François Berruyer (1737?–1804), Governor 1803–1804
Jean-Baptiste Bessières (1768–1813), Marshal of the Empire
Baptiste Pierre Bisson (1767–1811) (heart)
Antoine Baucheron de Boissoudy (1864–1926)
Thomas Bugeaud (1784–1849), Marshal of France, involved in the conquest of Algeria
François Canrobert (1809–1895), Marshal of France
François-Henri de Franquetot de Coigny (1737–1821), Marshal of France, Governor 1816–1821
Victor Cordonnier (1858–1936)
Charles-Marie Denys de Damrémont (1783–1837)
Vincent Martel Deconchy (1768–1823) (heart)
Denis Auguste Duchêne (1862–1950)
Guy-Victor Duperré (1775–1846)
Franciade Fleurus Duvivier (1794–1848)
Jean Baptiste Eblé (1758–1812) (heart)
Louis Franchet d'Espèrey (1856–1942), Marshal of France
Rémy Joseph Isidore Exelmans (1775–1852), Marshal of France
Émile Fayolle (1852–1928), Marshal of France
Ernest François Fournier (1842–1934)
Dominique-Marie Gauchet (1853–1931)
Augustin Gérard (1857–1926)
Henri Giraud (1879–1949)
Émile Guépratte (1856–1939)
Adolphe Guillaumat (1863–1940)
Ferdinand-Alphonse Hamelin (1796–1864)
Jean-Joseph Ange d'Hautpoul (1754–1807) (heart)
Paul Prosper Henrys (1862–1943)
Jean Houdemon (1885–1960), Governor 1951–1960
Georges Louis Humbert (1862–1921)
Jean-Baptiste Jourdan (1762–1833), Marshal of the Empire, Governor 1830–1833
Alphonse Juin (1888–1967), Marshal of France
Jean-Baptiste Kléber (1753–1800) (heart)
Fernand de Langle de Cary (1849–1927)
Charles Lanrezac (1852–1925)
Augustin Boué de Lapeyrère (1852–1924)
Jean Ambroise Baston de Lariboisière (1759–1812)
Dominique Jean Larrey (1766–1842), celebrated military surgeon
Antoine Charles Louis de Lasalle (1777–1809), the "Hussar General"
Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque (1902–1947), Marshal of France
Patrice de MacMahon (1808–1893), Marshal of France and President of France
Paul Maistre (1858–1922)
Gabriel Malleterre (1858–1923), Governor 1919–1923
Charles Mangin (1866–1925)
Augustin Eugène Mariaux (1864–1944), Governor 1923–1944
Edmond-Charles de Martimprey (1808–1883), Governor 1870–1871
Louis de Maud'huy (1857–1921)
Michel-Joseph Maunoury (1847–1923), posthumous Marshal of France
Antoine de Mitry (1857–1924)
Gabriel Jean Joseph Molitor (1770–1849), Marshal of France, Governor 1847–1848
Bon-Adrien Jeannot de Moncey (1754–1842), Marshal of the Empire, Governor 1833–1842
Raoul Magrin-Vernerey a.k.a. Ralph Monclar (1892–1964), Governor 1862–1864
Georges Mouton (1770–1838), Marshal of France
François-Marie-Casimir Négrier (1788–1848) (heart)
Robert Nivelle (1856–1924)
Nicolas d'Orange des Roches (1618–1705), Governor 1696–1705
Philippe Antoine d'Ornano (1784–1863), Marshal of France, Governor 1853–1863
Nicolas Oudinot (1767–1847), Marshal of the Empire, Governor 1842–1847
Paul Pau (1848–1932)
Aimable Pélissier (1794–1864), Marshal of France
Henri Putz (1859–1925)
Antoine Rodes (1870–1951), Governor 1944–1951
Pierre Alexis Ronarc'h (1865–1940)
Pierre Roques (1856–1920), creator of the French Air Force
Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle (1760–1836), army captain, author of France's national anthem La Marseillaise
Pierre Ruffey (1851–1928)
Auguste Regnaud de Saint-Jean d'Angély (1794–1870), Marshal of France
Jacques Leroy de Saint-Arnaud (1798–1854), Marshal of France
Maurice Sarrail (1856–1929) (heart)
Horace François Bastien Sébastiani de La Porta (1771–1851), Marshal of France
Jean-Mathieu-Philibert Sérurier (1742–1819), Marshal of France, Governor 1804–1815
Victor d'Urbal (1858–1943)
Sylvain Charles Valée (1773–1846), Marshal of France

Two of these, Gabriel Malleterre and Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque, are also honored with a plaque inside the Saint-Louis-des-Invalides cathedral. Another plaque honors Jean de Lattre de Tassigny (1889–1952), posthumous Marshal of France, commander of the French First Army during World War II and later commander in the First Indochina War, who is buried in Mouilleron-en-Pareds.